Youths and Their Liberty
by xlullaby
Summary: AU SoRiku with side of AkuRoku & Other pairings. Based in the UK. Sora and Riku are always helping out other people with their relationship drama that they don't really seem to have time for their own love lives. After a while things start to change.
1. Prologue

Head in hands, red veiny eyes, and salty stained cheeks. He should be used to this, but he's not. Still, this is the last time and he knows it. Maybe he'll get to recover this time. A few accidental bump-intos and unwanted conversations to face, but that's all. He'd be on the road to recovery in no time at all.

He didn't want anyone to check up on him. Not right now, anyway. He'd heard knocking at the door, he'd heard whispers and soft voices of concern. His phone was constantly ringing, the screen glaring at him in the darkness of the room. A couple of times his phone displayed a picture of Sora, his brother. They were at Nandos in the picture, and Roxas had taken the photo at the height of Sora's laughter. His teeth were so straight and white, there were creases on the edge of his eyes from the laughing and he had rosy red cheeks. It was getting the blond so wound up every time Sora called, seeing that picture of him every time and it almost felt like the Sora in the picture was laughing at him. Laughing at Roxas and his screwed up situation.

A picture of a silver haired guy flashed onto the screen once, then shortly after a guy with dark spikey hair with blue eyes. Why wasn't it _obvious_ to everyone that Roxas simply didn't want to talk to anyone right now? Wasn't that common sense, when someone's upset, they want a little time to themselves?

Truth be told, as annoying as it was to see his brothers goofy grin pop up every two minutes, it did slightly reassure him. His friends care for him, they always have and they always will. But right now nothing was going right. He couldn't be optimistic, not like Sora.

* * *

**'Roxas Sky went from being "in a relationship" to "single".'**

**Comments (1)**

**Sora Sky: Idiots**

Yeah, sure, the comment was maybe a bit harsh. But how many times had this happened this month? How could two people break up so often in such a short space of time? _How do you even screw up that bad_. Sora did love his brother and he did feel the need to protect him, but from what he'd heard about Axel and Roxas' relationship it isn't hard to see that they are bboth idiots./b And this was coming from someone who'd never even been in a proper relationship before!

Browsing through facebook on his phone, Sora concluded that it must have been Axel who changed the relationship status as Roxas was not answering his calls and neither was he making ridiculously depressing status updates. Becoming a little worried, he went onto Axel's profile. The first thing he noticed was that his profile picture had changed. It used to be a picture of Axel and Roxas, nothing sickeningly lovey-dovey cute, just a picture of them smiling. Now it was just a picture of Axel, looking particularly drunk with both arms slung around his best buddies on each side of him, Saix and Demyx.

They were at Pulse, some club that was hidden away in the city back at home. Sora had never been to it, but he remembered that Roxas had mentioned that Axel and his buddies go there often. When Axel went out, Roxas and Sora would have some time to hang out together. They had barely spent any time together since the blond and the redhead began dating, so they'd crack open some J2O's and turn on the telly, watching whatever was on. Usually it would be the X Factor. Not that either of them were particularly fond of the show, it was just something to watch at the time.

Damn, Sora missed home. He wondered if Riku and Kairi missed home too.

After some long thinking and consideration, Sora decided that it was time to leave. As much as he loved London, it was nothing compared to home. He'd tell Riku in the morning.


	2. CH 1: Home

_So officially the first chapter to my new fic! So, just a little bit of information. I've been very unoriginal here. Sora and Roxas are twin brothers, Axel and Roxas are going through complete angst meanwhile Sora and Riku are just good friends right now. I promise you, it will become more focused on the SoRiku stuff soon. Bare with! I chose the locations for specific reasons. Mostly because I'm a UK'er and I have visited many of the places mentioned and I can pop in places that are here irl to make it that bit more realistic. The main setting is also where I come from, lameiknowokay, but this makes it so much easier for me to describe things._

_Another note, this fic will probably be focusing on Sora/Riku more than the other pairings. I mean, AkuRoku will play a big part in this fic too (especially right now at the start) but I do really want to focus on Sora and Riku. Thinking about pairing Kairi with someone but unsure yet, I don't want my babu feeling lonely though ; A; Zemyx is a possibility along with other random pairings. I don't know where this fic is going btw, I really hope maybe it'll become a really long story. But A-Levels exist… idk. I'm hoping I get attached to this anyway. Also, I haven't really planned out the plot properly so what happens from here on is beyond me._

_But yeah, enjoy!_

* * *

Sora, Riku and Kairi all share a flat room together in central London. It would be expensive living, if it wasn't for Kairi's friend who had given them some sort of discount. Neither Riku or Sora were sure how it had come about, they just did what they could to pay the rent. It was quite pricey, even with the discount, but they had alright jobs and there was something thrilling about living in such a place. The days were always interesting and the nightlife was incredible.

Sora worked in the local Tesco's at the checkout, while Riku had luckily managed to get a job as a construction worker. Kairi worked at The Harp, a bar in Covent Garden. They had landed good jobs, earning enough to get the usual food and general things every week and enough to pay the rent. But not enough to go out on the town often. Not enough to live there that long.

Riku was _much_ too aware of this. Although he found it exciting being somewhere new at first, he couldn't help but think about the future. They had all, as friends, taken a gap year before they'd go off to university. Suddenly, Kairi had been offered this place for a reduced price. This was seen as an opportunity, which they didn't think twice about taking. He couldn't help but secretly feel regretful. It was getting harder to pay the rent, and that refreshing feeling of being in a new place was wearing off. But Sora and Kairi seemed to have no problem staying there for a little longer. Truthfully but secretly, Riku couldn't wait to leave.

So when Sora bounded into Riku's small bedroom that morning going on about leaving, Riku immediately woke up, mumbled something in agreement and jumped out of bed to go make them both a coffee.

They could only assume that Kairi was asleep. There was no sign of her. It made their conversation easier to have though. They loved Kairi and they really didn't want to upset her, so now was their chance to privately come out to each other about their need to leave. Mostly, Riku was relieved that Sora wanted to return home as well, but figured it was really to do with his brother who seemed to be down in the dumps as of recent.

And he was right.

**"**… and I just don't feel like I can stay here anymore knowing that Roxas is in this position. I mean he's my brother! I haven't seen him in months and he's been through all this… this crap…**"**

They were both sitting at the small dining table, mugs of hot coffee in their hands. Sora was starting to look really desperate as he continued talking. Luckily, it was Saturday, so neither of them were required to be in work.

Riku eventually nodded. It was understandable, and he could tell that Sora was getting seriously concerned about things now. In fact, Riku was a bit stuck in that situation too. Sora was his best friend, but Axel was also a good friend of his. He'd shared a few secret phone calls with the infamous redhead already. Axel would complain about things going on with Roxas and Riku would complain about wanting to go home. But because of these phone calls, Riku knew a lot of things that Sora didn't. It made him feel uncomfortable.

**"**… I mean… I feel bad because Kairi was the one who got us here. We wouldn't have been able to have had this awesome experience if it wasn't for her. I don't want to leave you eith-**"**

**"**Sora,**"** Riku cuts in quickly, knowing that this was his time to reveal how he felt. **"**I want to leave too. I have done for a while, but didn't want to say anything. At any time I could be made redundant and these bills are getting pricey. I won't be able to afford keeping the car anymore either and as great as it is here I-**"**

**"**Sora? Riku?**"**

The two quickly turned to face the girl who spoke, immediately taking in the look of pure shock on her face. She must have been listening for a while as her face had turned a peculiar colour and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. This was the heart-breaking thing. Kairi really loved London. Both of the guys opened their mouths to speak, but nothing came out. After some time, the silence passed and the girl breathed out a long sigh, and her beautiful (but now sad) blue eyes darted to the floor.

**"**It's okay. I understand, really I do. Listen… leave, I'll be okay. I mean, I'll be coming home at some point too. I just thought we'd spend much longer here, y'know?**"**

The two nodded, taking into consideration what she was saying. It's true, they'd only spent a while living in London. They still had a lot of the year left until Uni, so they could understand where Kairi was coming from. They also understood how much she liked the city too and how just so disappointing this was for her, that her best friends wanted to leave. It was crushing to see her look so sad about it though.

* * *

It took a short while, getting their resignations sorted and packing, but a few days later the two boys were just about ready to leave. It had taken some time getting Sora's rather large suitcase into the boot of Riku's car, but it seemed that everything was ready and all that was left to do was to… just leave.

**"**We'll see you soon Kai, 'hope the new roommates are good for you!**"** Sora grinned, pulling her into a friendly hug.

**"**After experiencing sharing a place with you two, they should be angels!**"** she joked, wrapping her arms around the brunet's neck and closing her eyes.

She was sad to see them leave; they were her best friends after all! But she was good with new people, and actually felt pretty excited about meeting her roommates. She had made friends at the bar and at clubs anyway, so she wasn't going to be lonely. She waved goodbye to Riku who was already in the car, and he returned it, calling out a 'bye' before Sora got in and closed the passenger door. After struggling to find a good clutch point and stalling twice, Riku and Sora were finally on their way. It took a while to get out of the city since they were so central to begin with, but eventually they were cruising down the motorway at a steady speed. The journey was long, and by the time they had reached Reading it was already dark.

**"**Hey 'Ku, reckon Kairi will be okay?**"**

Riku's eyes glanced to the side, noticing the look of worry on Sora's face. He left the question hanging in the air for a while, as he too felt slightly worried for his friend. Kairi was a strong girl, emotionally strong, so she could handle it right?

They hit traffic, it seemed like a big accident was up ahead as it was very slow moving. Riku took in a shallow breath, noticing how anxious and fidgety Sora had become. After some time, he reached over and laced his fingers with Sora's. The brunet looked up with wide eyes, but Riku just smiled at him, trying to be as reassuring as he possibly could.

An hour later and Sora was sound asleep. But they were nearly home. They passed a sign that read 'Welcome to Cardiff, South Glamorgan' and Riku shivered, feeling so iright/i about being on the road to home. Once they had managed to get onto the exit road into their part of the city, they were pulling up outside a large house in a small neighbourhood. He turned the engine off and looked over to Sora who was still asleep. He gazed for a while, noticing the way his long eyelashes rested on his cheeks, the way his lips were slightly curved upwards as if he were smiling. Sora looked so peaceful, and Riku felt a little mean knowing that he had to wake him up.

The silver haired boy reached out, gently shaking his friend's shoulder. Slowly Sora came around, moaning quietly through the sleep.

**"**Sora, we're here.**"**

A minute of silence passed but then the brunet looked up at Riku and gave a tired smile.

**"**Yeah. We're home.**"**


	3. CH 2: Keys & Betrayal

It's a hot Tuesday. A really hot Tuesday.

Axel and Xigbar were about to leave Xig's place to grab a couple of beers from the Co-Op, but as they reached Axel's car they noticed something just wasn't _right_. Once upon a time it was a striking red speed machine. But suddenly it wasn't so cool. Of course, the owner of the car noticed what it was straight away. He immediately turned pale, clashing terribly with that red mop of his.

A thin but clear white line stood out brilliantly against the red, marking all the way over the side of the car.

_'My car got fucking keyed.'_

**"**Man, he really got your doors.**"**

Axel couldn't speak. He was in shock. How much was this going to cost him? How long had it been like this, had someone done it while he was at Xig's? Or maybe it had happened in the night, and he hadn't noticed the scratch until now. No… it was a pretty big fucking scratch. He would have definitely noticed it before he left his place that morning. After a while, the redhead turned to Xigbar and muttered something about it being better to take his car to go to the shop.

Axel was silent the entire car ride to the Co-op, silent the whole time they were in the shop, and silent on the way back. It was more out of anger, if anything. It was understandable though. The car used to be so impressive, but now it was a humiliation. Xigbar wasn't helping either.

**"**Dude I am telling you, that shit is a criminal offence and you can get that little fucker sued for this.**"**

**"**Yeah but how do you know he did it? Trust me I don't think Rox is the type of guy to do something like this. This looks like someone else's work.**"**

Someone else could literally mean anyone to Axel. It could be just a random stunt someone decided to pull, or it could mean so much more. He refused to believe Roxas would do something like this. Sure they just ended on some really messy terms, but he knew Rox wouldn't actually ikey/i his car over it. Anyway, right now he was too annoyed to care who did it. How much was this going to cost him? It made him ache all over thinking about it.

**"**As long as you're sure Axel. Whatever man, we need to take your mind off things. What are you up to tonight? Pulse?**"**

**"**Nah, Riku's home. Going to head over to his place and cook up some food, have a beer, play a couple new tracks.**"**

**"**Ah, right.**"**

The two arrived back at Xigbar's, and they jumped in front of the television to spend the rest of the afternoon watching a repeat of the weekends rugby match. Xigbar was slowly dozing off by the fifth beer and Axel had the laptop on his lap. He was searching online for more information on what the hell could be done to resolve the situation that was his keyed car. A couple of hours later and he glanced over at the older man, noticing he was completely out cold. Maybe it was time to leave. Putting Xig's laptop aside, he got up and reached for his jacket and keys. He passed through the hallway and picked up Xig's keys to unlock the door, but as he reached out to unlock it he noticed something strange and paused, holding it out in front of him to get a better look.

The key was silver, but the jagged side was stained red. It clicked almost instantly. Damn, _what the hell?_ He quickly unlocked the door, leaving it open for the public in hopes this absolute shithead would get robbed, and stormed over to Xigbar's car. It was an old thing, rusty green. Still it was a car, and Axel proceeded to drag the tip of the key over both doors, around the back, and over the other doors.

He lit a cigarette, then chucked Xigbar's key onto his drive and stormed over to his own car, getting inside and revving the engine, driving off at a ridiculous speed and leaving behind a thick cloud of smoke.

* * *

Roxas felt surrounded. He felt that Sora shouldn't have come home. He felt that Cloud, who was now home from Uni, had outstayed his welcome. He felt that it was about time his parents left for a well-deserved holiday and he also felt it was inappropriate that people were STILL calling him. The reassurance had faded, now it was just getting annoying. All in all Roxas felt pretty damn shitty.

Thing is, Roxas used to be able to talk to those he could trust about his and Axel's problems. But now, not even them, could he bring himself to talk to. Mostly because there was nothing to… figure out. It was over now; it was as simple as that. Axel had said that they just weren't working, they weren't going to work, and it probably won't ever work. He agreed, but desperately wanted not to.

Eventually as it neared Tuesday evening the door to his room opened. Roxas was lying on his bed in complete darkness. Something about being in the dark was relaxing to him, and he was getting a little sleepy already. But now someone had interrupted his dozing off, and he frowned at the figure standing in the door frame. It was Sora. He quickly found his way over to Roxas, curling up next to him on the bed and reached out, affectionately ruffling the blonde spikes of hair.

**"**Quit it.**"**

Sora kept ruffling.

**"**Sora I said stop.**"**

More ruffling.

**"**Okay, okay…**"** he chuckled slightly, rolling on to his back and staring up at the ceiling, his eyes not quite reaching Sora's yet. It seemed like so long since he'd last seen his brother. Except for on skype that one time, but that was still kind of a while ago.

He knew he was going to have to tell Sora what was going on. He was pretty sure after ignoring all those calls, ignoring all those notifications on facebook, ignoring almost any attempt anyone made to interact with him, he was going to have to do it now. Slowly, he turned to face his brother and his eyes landed on a pair just like his own, bright and blue. He thought of that picture of Sora laughing and thinking about it now while Sora was next to him made him laugh again.

**"**What?**"**

**"**Look.**"**

He reached over the table beside his bed, groping around for his phone. Eventually his hand landed on it and he started flicking through his contacts. Eventually he came to the 'S' list, and touched his brother's name. The picture came up, and with a grin he passed the phone to Sora. The brunette narrowed his eyes, trying to cope with the sudden light of the phone in the dark of the room, but after his eyes adjusted he let out a snort.

**"**Don't put that on facebook!**"**

The brothers joked around for the rest of the night. Sora told Roxas embarrassing things that happened back in London, Roxas informed Sora on things that had happened while he was away, being careful to steer clear of anything Axel related. After the giggling and teasing, eventually the two fell into a calm sleep.


	4. CH 3: Chicken Tikka

_Okay this chapter is pretty long, I know ; n; I mean that might be a good thing but I'm kind of new to this, so idk. It's 3am right now and honestly my hands are on fire from all the typing, but it's true when they say that the best results come out at the early hours of the morning._

_Best results for me would be that I wrote more than I usually do. I'm not convinced with this chapter, I think it's very shitty if I'm honest. Especially with Sora flashbacking to his drunken ass memories… So yeah, weird shit is about to start happening between him and Riku. Roxas and Axel are experiencing angst AS ALWAYS but hayho._

* * *

"Mate, your car…"

"I know. Xigbar. What a fuckin' liberty."

Riku was feeling pretty sorry for Axel right now. His car had been badly keyed, and from what he had gathered, Xigbar was the culprit. They both figured it was out of spite or jealousy. Even though Axel and Xigbar weren't as close as Axel was to Saix or Demyx, friends don't do that to friends. In fact, it wasn't something anyone should really do to anyone. Axel was right, it was a _'fuckin' liberty'_.

While discussing it with Riku, Axel left out the part about Xigbar trying to turn it on Roxas. He was trying to dodge that subject for a while. But Riku had beer, and a lot. There wasn't much to be explained, since he knew that this kid was smart. He'd probably already figured it out on his own anyway. But Riku had a free house and they had a lot of time, it was pretty damn inevitable that something was going to come out.

Secretly, Riku wasn't all that interested anyway. He'd pretty much got the gist of it. He'd been aware that things hadn't been going smoothly for a while, and it was really just a case of it being, well, _over_. Still, luck for Axel seemed to have flown out the window. His car was embarrassing, a friend had betrayed him and on top of that he was dealing with a break up. Riku could tell he was suffering in silence, but he really didn't want to pry while the redhead was still fired up and angry.

An hour later and Axel had flopped down onto Riku's beige leather sofa, switching on the telly and flicking through the channels. Nothing special was on, just reruns of Friends and CSI. Eventually he had settled with CSI, and Riku went over to the kitchen area, preparing what smelled like a Chicken Tikka. Except right now it looked like _anything_ but Chicken Tikka. It looked like just a big pile of sludge in a pan. Yet Sora seemed to swear by this recipe.

"I don't know what I'm doing." Axel eventually managed to mumble after eating what seemed to be the world's shittiest curry. Maybe next time he'll cook. Even Riku, the self-proclaimed incredi-chef, was struggling to finish this meal.

"Me neither, shouldn't have trusted a recipe from Sora." Riku responded jokingly, getting up from his chair and grabbing his and Axel's plates, then going over to stack them in the dishwasher. He returned back to the room with two beers, passing one to Axel. He dropped down into his seat, taking a swig of his beer and looked over to the redhead expectantly. Maybe now was the time to talk about stuff. The only sound in the room was the television, which had mysteriously switched to the news channel. For a while it was just that, the noise of the television. Axel wasn't speaking and neither was Riku, despite the fact it was obvious he was waiting for the other to talk. It wasn't until Axel had finished his beer did he open his mouth to say something.

"Heh, alright. You've got that look."

"What look?"

"Well I don't know Riku, what do you think?"

"C'mon. Don't get arsey. I'm here to help you, remember?"

Axel shrugged, and after a while he got up to retrieve another beer from the fridge. Upon returning, he came face to face with a sight he had never seen before. Riku was sat there staring down at his phone with a grin on his face. Not the usual I'm-pure-fucking-happy-right-now grin. No, it was the stupid talking-to-crush grin and damn, what a sight for sore eyes. Now Axel loved a bit of banter and he was known for being a bit of a tease. But Riku always had his walls up, hardly ever gave Axel a reason to tease him, aside from his dodgy clutch-point and the thing that Riku called a car. But never has Riku ever given Axel the opportunity to tease him about a stupid crush. Or maybe this was _more_ than a crush, had Riku bagged himself someone? It was shockingly hard trying to read that grin, but it was blaringly obvious he was talking to someone he had feelings for.

"So who's the lucky girl? Or guy?"

The sickening talking-to-crush grin had disappeared now, Riku's mouth now making a straight line as he quirked his brow at the other. He wasn't one to get flustered or embarrassed easily, especially as it wasn't even like that. Instead, he was just questioning what Axel had asked him. Questioning the way he'd said it too. Like something was going on.

Well,

Riku didn't really know.

It wasn't officially like something was going on, but at the same time he was unsure. He was just texting Sora, teasing him about the recipe, and the other had sent him a really funny text in response. It made Riku laugh anyway. It was just a bit of banter, and Riku had texted back something funny in return, but only to get an apologetic text back saying that Sora was going to sleep, and that he'd text Riku in the morning. So Riku was in the middle of texting a good night to the brunet when Axel interrupted his thoughts, and before he knew it the redhead was nearing towards him. Snatching the phone out of his hands, Axel began to read the message that Riku had previously been composing. Not that Riku minded or anything. For one, he couldn't really see anything… scandalous? Yeah, _scandalous_ about the whole thing.

But of course Axel was being a complete dick'ed about it.

"Damn. Sora? Always knew. Well, I'm happy for you t-"

"What? No, Axel you've got it wrong. We're just friends, I was just saying good night."

"You're pulling my leg. Seriously, what did you two do in London?"

In all honesty, the conversation was getting kind of funny. The way Axel's stubby red eyebrows bounced up and down suggestively. What he was trying to imply went beyond Riku, but still made him laugh. After fifteen minutes of teasing, crazy assumptions and personal questions, the two collapsed on the sofa, taking a breather from all the laughter. Silence had suddenly filled the room as the television had been switched off. Riku's mind began to wander. He thought about Sora, how he really felt about him. They had those special little moments. Standing a little too close to each other sometimes, hugs that weren't the usual bro-hugs, lacing of hands and weird gazing matches. Only now was it starting to mean something to Riku, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. All these thoughts were starting to get on his nerves anyway, so he turned to Axel. Maybe it was selfish, but he needed a distraction and he knew that the other had only one thing on his mind right now.

* * *

"Where did it go wrong?"

A pause and a heavy sigh.

"Don't ask me. One minute we're great and the next we're screaming down each other's throats."

"It must have started somewhere."

"Nah, that's the thing. It really just came out of nowhere. Sometimes I wouldn't even be able to look at him, but then it all just changes and we're okay."

"Kind of like that Example song."

They both laughed, but it wasn't really genuine. If anything it was awkward because it was so true. Axel's feelings kept kick-starting, it probably drove Roxas up the wall. It made Riku wonder though, who ended things? Who was the one to put their foot down and decide to walk away from it all? Since the moment he'd seen it on facebook, he had thought that it was Axel. But with what Roxas seemed to put up with, all that erratic behaviour, Riku was beginning to wonder if it really was him who finished it.

But at the same time, what does it matter? They were over, done with, and it didn't seem like it was going to start up again anytime soon. It then deemed on Riku that he knew so much about Axel and Roxas' love lives yet knew so little of his own. Was it inexistent or something? Sure, there was the slight confusion with Sora but he hardly gave that a thought until now. Fuck, this is exactly why he hated anything to do with that sort of stuff. It just seemed like so much effort and too much stress.

Axel slept on the couch that night. He seemed to have dozed off after their conversation.

Riku retired to his room, but couldn't get any sleep. He was slowly becoming obsessed with this whole thing with Sora. Did they even have a thing? Is that was he was going to call it now? What could he even call it. Hee wasn't even sure what _it_ was.

* * *

"You sure you're going to be okay?"

"Sora, I'm fine. Go hang out with Riku, I'll just be here where I always am. Out of trouble."

"I know but you're alone and right now you cou-"

"Sora, go."

From how okay Roxas sounded about Sora leaving, he realised that maybe Roxas actually wanted to be alone. He guessed that was why he was still ignoring everyone's calls and was hardly speaking to anyone. Maybe it was part of the healing process. Soon enough, Sora was leaving the house to go catch the bus into the city to meet up with Riku. He was wearing his usual vans, skinny chinos, a blue v-neck t-shirt and a grey hoodie. Sora tended to follow trends, but wasn't really aware of doing so. Although he admired originality there were other ways you could be original and 'following' a fashion wasn't something he was concerned about. If anything, it was just easier to buy the clothes that were in fashion, since so many shops sold that trend.

Cardiff Bus was notorious for its poor bus service. Well, according to most teens. Even Sora slightly despised it, but it seemed to be on his side today. The bus came on time and soon enough he was passing through the villages. It was about a twenty minute journey, but it was usually made enjoyable whenever he was with someone or had music on him to listen to. So, he slipped the ear-buds into his ears and began to play whatever was on his iPod. Blind Faith – Chase & Status. That'll do.

Ever since he'd reached sixteen he'd been starting to listen to this sort of music. Riku was in that crowd that liked to throw the parties. But not the 'popular' crowd, it was more the stoners and dubstep fanatics. Although seen as a bad thing, there was something thrilling about going to someone's house to hear a heavy base and to be surrounded by the sweet smell of marijuana. Sora, of course, would never touch that stuff. Riku maybe, depending how he felt. But they were keener on a drink. Still, the heavy dubstep and drum and bass would get Sora up on his feet. It would be Roxas, Xion and Sora dancing around once they had a drink in their system. Axel and Riku would watch from afar, smirking in amusement.

Sora was so caught up in the memories of past parties that he almost missed his stop. Luckily, he managed to get off and started to make his way down Queens Street and finally reaching a starbucks. He was a little early, so purchased his usual Caramel Cream Frappuccino and found a comfy chair to sit in. He was starting to zone out again, and his attention was taken by blurry memories of swaying around a smoky red-lit room, his legs trembling for some reason, the feeling of two strong arms reaching out to hold him up and slowly pulling him in.

_"… gotta sober… Sor… fuck… hey… c'mon… stay awake… anyone… water?"_

"Earth to Sora? Hello?"

"-oh! Riku, sorry about that. I guess I zoned out, huh."

Riku couldn't help but smile. Sometimes the brunet was such a goof. He flopped down on the seat opposite him, a smoothie in hand. He ran his hand through his hair before breathing out a long sigh. He wasn't sure why he'd made plans to meet Sora here; he could have just invited him around his place. Maybe he just wanted to get in the city to feel at home again. The days since they'd been home had seemed so surreal and it had felt like he was still in London, somewhere so strange and different. He just wanted to feel… _at home_, once again.

"So, is your brother okay?"

"Yeah, I think he's just… getting over it, you know. What about Axel?"

"Not sure. I mean, that stuff with Roxas. His car got keyed too…"

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah, Xigbar doesn't seem to be able to control his jealousy." Riku took a moment to take a sip of his smoothie and at the same time Sora took in some of his Frappuccino. Riku couldn't help but stare at Sora's lips around the straw. They were a light gentle pink, and damn they looked soft. A few minutes passed and he realised he was still staring, and now Sora was staring at him. Shit, it was one of those moments. The whole gazing match thing, but this time Riku was really aware of it. Sora must have been too, as they both quickly looked away, quietly pretending it never happened.

"Demyx is having a get together soon." Was all that Riku seemed to be able to come up with after desperately trying to think of something to say to break the silence.

"Yeah?" Sora's response was pretty lame too. Maybe it was because he felt a little… not hurt, but maybe a bit confused as to why that silence even had been made awkward. He knew Riku had felt it too. They were usually so comfortable in each other's silences, but why was this so different?

"Yup. Think you can come?"

"I don't know… this whole thing with Rox and Axel, I don't think it would feel right going to a party that Axel would most likely be going to, and not bringing Roxas along."

"Then why don't you bring him along?"

Sora frowned. What did Riku mean? That was obviously going to start trouble. If he brought Roxas to a party that Axel was at then anything could happen. Sora would want to go to a party to have fun, and he could just see himself sitting on the steps of Demyx's house trying to comfort Roxas. Plus, it would take a lot of persuading to even get Roxas to attend the party. He wouldn't go knowing it was at Demyx's. And if Sora then went on his own, Roxas would probably never forgive him.

"It's complicated."

The response again was lame. Or maybe not lame, just a little blunt. Just a little too… reserved. Riku and Sora usually would be able to talk about anything, but Sora looked really uncomfortable right now. The way he sat, the way he frowned, the way he even spoke was a little off. As much as Riku wanted the other to elaborate on what he was saying, he also felt odd about prying. Instead, he quickly changed the conversation.

"You know, that Chicken Tikka was seriously insane."

It was like some massive change had happened right in front of him. Sora's face lit up and he collapsed into a fit of laughter, causing a chuckle to escape from Riku's lips.

"You must have cooked in wrong, 'Ku! When I make it, it doesn't sound anything like the way you described it in that message."

"You should cook it for me sometime, just to prove that. Honestly Sora, it was mad."

"Hey, I should. You know what, we'll take the bus home together and I'll cook it. Just to prove you wrong."

"Ha-ha, alright. But until then, I'm still going to tease you about it."

"Fine. Just let me cook it for you."

The two sat grinning at each other for a while. See, this wasn't awkward. So why had it been like that before? Oh, it was frustrating. Especially with someone as complicated as Riku. Sora found it so hard to read him sometimes.

After doing a little bit of browsing in the shops, the two caught the bus back to Sora's house. Eventually when they got in, they were met with the sight of Roxas in the kitchen, hunched over a bacon sandwich. His eyes first met with Riku's, and they both offered a nod of acknowledgement to each other. Even though Roxas knew that Riku and Axel were quite good friends and Axel had probably shared a couple of things with the silver-haired guy, he still knew Riku as a_ friend_. Not his _ex-boyfriend's friend_. They'd met long before he'd met Axel, so it wasn't exactly a sticky situation. But maybe it was a little off-putting knowing that Axel had probably had some sort of chat with Riku since his return from London.

"Riku is staying for dinner. Er, where are Mum and Dad?"

"Won't be back until tomorrow, Cloud's train got cancelled so they're driving him back to Uni."

"Oh, right."

Roxas finished the rest of his sandwich, then dropped the plate into a sink full of dishes and quickly left the room to go into the lounge. It was kind of a relief to see him somewhere other than his room, which Sora was convinced he had not left for several days. But he looked pretty bad. He was pale and the bags under his eyes were concerning. It was a little worrying for Riku too. But Sora decided not to concentrate on that right now, instead he grinned back at Riku and put his hands on his hips.

"Alright, ready to taste the best curry you'll ever have in your life?"

"Pff, if you say so."

"I know so! Just you watch."


End file.
